...the mildness to which men ... had yielded was only half of the intoxication of beauty, while the other half ... was of such surpassing and terrible cruelty—the most cruel of men delights himself with a flower—that beauty ... failed quickly of its effect...

Jeremy Davies is made of ink, but don’t dip a feather in him. It tickles. He once painted a fingernail black and no one really noticed. He was disappointed. He’s also an editor, a religious atheist, a liker of strong coffees, a Shakespeare-lover, a political anarchist and someone who rarely has a pen when he needs one. He has been a PhD candidate, a personal trainer, a life model, a bouncer, an infantry soldier and someone who rarely had a pen when he needed one. He has had words published in a variety of places, in a variety of publications, in a variety of forms, in a variety of moments: Canada, Wet Ink, SMS and twelve minutes past three in the afternoon being some of these. His first novel, 'Missing Presumed Undead', will be re-published by Satalyte Publishing in February 2014. A second is on its way.

Dick shows his usual dazzling blend of vision and narrative energy in this novel. The ideas he is playing with and the manner with which he uses humanity and technology to play out these ideas is five star worthy.

However, maybe due to the above, I can't help being 3 star disappointed upon finishing... I understand the demented manner with which the narrative focus is in play with the theme, but I really wanted more from the simulcra: I wanted them more up front in the story, and found myself wanting to skip through the relationship angst of Pris and Louis.

I guess this is why I prefer [b:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?|7082|Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?|Philip K. Dick|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51figp%2BFE8L._SL75_.jpg|830939], which is kind of the same novel, in a way, but from another angle.

I also enjoy the dated science-fiction speculations, such as the existence of domestic rocket travel and interplanetary colonisation along side the use of carbon paper on typewriters and public phones with books with everyones addresses in them...